With an estimated 107,000 fewer new cases of asthma and 87,000 fewer new cases of COPD between March 2020 and December 2021, it is critical action is taken to enhance GP direct access to diagnostic tests.
By enhancing GP direct access to rapid spirometry and FeNO testing, and ensuring that GP direct access to NT-proBNP provides a triage for echo -
- Achieve earlier detection and diagnosis of COPD and asthma, enabling early interventions for optimal treatment, better management of the conditions and benefits to the health system
- Earlier detection can also lead to a reduction in acute admissions, reduction in non-elective winter admissions, resource utilisation, improvement in quality of life and healthy life expectanc
- Achieve earlier detection and diagnosis of heart failure, enabling referral for specialist assessment and echo in non-acute symptomatic patients, more effective use of echo capacity and provide faster access to echo tests for acute heart failure patients